Through Drew's Pond on a Rainy Morning.

 

It was dry when we met outside the Corn Exchange at 10.30 for our walk across the fields towards Potterne, and then back into Devizes via Drew's Pond Nature Reserve. Meanwhile the sky started to look rather menacing, so after a democratic group discussion, we decided to change the walk so as not to be caught out in the wilds in deep mud and drizzle! We walked into Hillworth Park, were we saw this wonderful Sweet Chestnut tree standing in all its glory outside the park's newly opened cafe and visitor centre. To the right, just out of shot, is the park's aviary with its collection of semi exotic birds for the children to see. From here it was a steady walk downhill into Drew's Pond, where at 11.15 precisely, it started to rain.

M found a fallen tree trunk.

 

We wandered through the woods in the drizzle, where M found a tree trunk that had fallen across the little stream, and then proceeded to dance with death over the crystal clear, cold water.  M has a great sense of fun, but the rest of us decided that we didn't want to join in.  The photo below shows the rest of the group following the track through the woods.  The rain got heavier, and further along we abandoned the walk and went back to P and P's for a hot cup of tea or coffee and biscuits.  A good time was had by all, although we all ended up with soggy boots and wet jackets.

The way through the woods.

Warding off SAD and The Concrete Block.

Many think it a bit early to put  the Christmas candlelights on, but as soon as the clocks go back, and the long dark evenings arrive, I take the lights out of their box, and  put them on the window cill to brighten up the evenings.   It is possible to buy a "lightbox" in order to mimic sunlight in the winter months, which helps people who suffer from "Seasonal Effective Disorder,"  SAD, a form of winter depression.   The bright light certainly works for me, and is cheaper than buying a proper lightbox. At the moment the  candlelights stand  on the back of my chair, but on Thursday November 1st they will take their rightful place on the window cill until next year. 

 

The answer to yesterday's question about the concrete block is as following:   Many years ago, in the 1980's I believe, the BBC showed a programme, where archeologists recreated the possible methods used to transport the massive stones used at Stonehenge,  from Wales to Wiltshire.   It is thought that stoneage man used the rivers to carry the stones on rafts.  An experiment was held on the Kennet & Avon Canal to see if this was possible.   A large concrete block was cast to represent a stone, and then floated on a large raft.  When the experiment was finished, the block was left at the wharf, to lie there in perpetuity!  (Well that is how the story goes!)

What is This? Any Ideas Please?

 

This rectangular block of concrete which weighs about a ton, lies at Devizes Wharf, where it was left by the BBC many years ago.  What was its purpose, and why is it here?

 

The weather here is horrible.  It's cold, damp, wet and now at 5pm it is dark.  Soon I will set up my Christmas lights in my window, so that their bright light can guide me towards Christmas for a good celebration of winter, with much drinking of beer and eating of walnuts and fruitcake.

The Final Cruise of the "Kenavon Venture" for Summer 2012.

 

Sharmain says "Goodbye" this afternoon to the passengers on the final cruise of the "Kennet & Avon Canal" trip boat the "Kenavon Venture."   Our trip boat season runs from Easter until October, and this year ends this Sunday, because the clocks go back tonight, and the boat now needs adequate port and starboard lights to meet new regulations for travelling at dusk and in the dark.

 

Paul guides the boat under Cemetry Road Bridge into her mooring at Devizes Wharf, just this side of the bridge to the right.   The boat is licensed to carry 54 people, passengers and crew, and has tables with forward and aft facing seats.  The seats in the front window,  are the favourite places for children, where they can sit and watch the ducks swim past.   The galley sells tea, coffee, beer, wine and light snacks, and also packets of special duck food for children to throw out of the open side hatches.   The boat will now rest until the "Santa Cruises" begin in December.

 

The wharf at Devizes.

The mooring for the "Kenavon Venture" to the left foreground.  The tall building is an old wharf warehouse, which now serves as "The Wharf Theatre."   Two hire boats are moored beside the theatre, with other narrowboats moored beside the towpath to the right.  Autumn has arrived in Devizes, and today was cold.

In the Guildhall in Bath.

This afternoon in Bath's Guildhall, I gave my talk entitled "Summer Months in Braunschweig" to members of the Bath/Braunschweig Twinning Association.  I arrived later than planned, after a slow ride on the bus through heavy traffic.  There'd been an accident near Melksham, and the police had closed the main road.  This meant that all the traffic had to travel through the narrow streets of the little town, and I arrived 15 minutes late at Pulteney Bridge in the centre of Bath.   Bath Guildhall was built between 1775 and 1778 by Thomas Baldwin, and is a Grade 1 listed building.  The facade has four ionic columns, and a statue of Justice stands proudly on the roof above the entrance.  The day was cold and grey, and it was good to sit in the warmth of the impressive main entrance and wait for my friends to arrive.

 

We met in the Council Chamber, a magnificent room with corinthian columns and many original royal portraits hanging on the walls.   A member of staff had set up the screen and projector which can be seen above.   The photo below, gives another view of the chamber with curved seating for members of Bath City Council. 

 

 

 

Fourteen members of the Twinning Association enjoyed my talk and photos about my life in Braunschweig during the summer months.   A German student from the city,  who is spending several months in Bath to improve his English,  attended the meeting and mentioned that he had discovered something new about his home town during my talk.   

 

 

The magnificent ceiling and small stained glass window of the Council Chamber.

Hydrangeas in Braunschweig.

The fog of the last few days has lifted, and it was a pleasure to go out in the fresh air today in not in a dismal blanket of low cloud.  These two photos were taken in the Botanical Gardens in Braunschweig in bright sunshine.  I found them today when I was putting the finishing touches to a Power Point talk,  I will be giving  to the "Bath/Braunschweig Twinning Group" in the Guildhall in Bath on Friday.  I will talk and show photos for about 30 minutes, and initially assembled 45 photos, which I have now whittled down to 35.   Still too many I think, but it is better to have too many rather than too few.   My talk is called, "Summer Months in Braunschweig" and starts with a photo of a view from my window of a summer sunrise, and ends with a photo of a beautiful rainbow arc over my flat in Timmerlah on a wet summer evening.

 

I shall swot up tonight on the history and stories behind some of my photos, and hopefully I will be prepared for any questions that might be asked.  I'm sure some of the members of the Twinning group with know more about the city than I do..

 

 

A friend rang on Tuesday to say that she is visiting a friend in hospital in Bath on Friday, and would I like to go with her.   Of course I cannot visit the hospital,  but I now have a companion on the bus to help the hour long journey pass by.  The bus leaves Devizes at 11.37, and I should be in Bath by 12.45, traffic jams permitting.

Observations

I saw this sign in a shop window today.  Such a  sign is likely to bring out the worst in the Devizes fly-posting brigade!  I wanted to write "Why? somewhere underneath, but thought better of it.   I feel better today, so I took a wander around the town,  popping into some of my favourite shops for a good browse.  I met C in Escourt Street, where we stopped for a good old "chinwag,"  and later bumped into A on a street corner, and had another good natter.  There's nothing like a good "chinwag" with friends on a windy street corner or in a shop entrance, where you can catch up on all the news.  I shall meet these two friends again tomorrow at our coffee morning, where we will have,  yes you've guessed it, another  good "chinwag."

 

 

I have recently discovered another JS Bach masterpiece, his great Mass in B Minor.    I've heard snippets of the work over the years, but have recently decided to study it in a bit more in detail.  It is good fun to listen to the music and to follow the notation in the score.  I have never sung this work, and probably never will, but the voices in the soprano line are pure and straight from the heavens.   

 

I've heard the work on YTube, with Andreas Scholl, the wonderful German counter-tenor singing the alto solos.  The "Agnus Dei," together with his rendition of "Erbarme dich, mein Gott" from the St Matthew Passion, are the two most soul reaching pieces of music I know.   When I go to heaven, I hope to have a good old "chinwag" with Mr JS Bach on a fluffy, windy corner cloud.

Gabriel Faure's "Requiem"

 

The Dauntsey's Choir concert approaches, and the tickets have just been issued.  We are giving a "Remembrance Day" concert on Wednesday 14th November.  The ticket above shows a field of poppies, with the sun setting on the horizon.  Faure's "Requiem" is hauntingly sad, and we will give a moving performance.   The school orchestra will also perform a short work, together with music from a young violinist and lady harpist. 

I missed a rehearsal last night as I have a cold and sore throat, and have spent today preparing a PowerPoint presentation called "Summer Months in Braunschweig," for my talk to the Bath/Braunschweig Twinning Association on Friday afternoon at 14.30.  The weather is set to get colder this Friday, so it's on with the winter woollies, socks, gloves, hat, scarf and boots.    I hope the 11.40 bus to Bath will be on time!

Walking the Caen Hill Flight

 

The seagulls rest on a boom set across one of the pounds to the side of the locks at Caen Hill.  The booms are in place to prevent the big fish going into the pounds and gobbling up the little fish.  Janet and I enjoyed a long walk down the muddy towpath beside the locks, and when we reached the bottom, we found a seat on which to sit and admire the view of this wonderful flight of the locks, the second longest in the UK and the "Third Wonder" of the waterways system.

 

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The flight of 16 consecutive locks at Caen Hill.

 

The photo above shows our view of the 16 locks, which during the last century, were lit by gas lamps at night, to enable  barges and fly-boats to carry cargoes 24 hours a day.  It was a slow journey taking wares by barge from Bristol and Bath and to the smaller towns that lay beside the Kennet & Avon canal.  The canal joins the River Thames at Reading, from which point you can travel to Oxford and the midlands or to London and the southeast of England.   

 

When Isambard Kingdom Brunel began  the construction of  the "Great Western Railway" from London to Bristol in 1833, he used canal barges to transport the materials for the building of the railway line.   The first trains used the tracks in 1838, and this enabled goods to be carried  between towns and cities at speed.    Rail transport meant that the canal lost most of its trade almost overnight, and during the following years, the canal started to fall into disrepair.  

 

At one stage many canals were abandoned and almost filled in, but in 1946 a number of UK canal enthusiasts formed the "Inland Waterways Association," and the gradual restoration of many canals in the UK began, which now forms the present network of waterways.  This great leisure resource provides enjoyment  not only for boaters, but for walkers, long distant ramblers, cyclists and fishermen. 

A Town Walk in Frome.

We ventured out on two buses today, firstly on a doubledecker, the No. 49 from Devizes to Trowbridge, where we changed to the No. 234 for the 20 minute journey  to Frome in the county of Somerset.   On arrival, our first visit was to the information centre situated in the museum, where we purchased for £3 a "Town Trail Guide" complete with a map of the town.    Easy we thought, so we started the walk at plaque No 1, which gave us some information about a building we could not see!   We soon discovered that the plaque numbers on the map  did not   correspond with  their positions in the actual streets!   The map was not much help, although Joyce our valiant leader,  persisted for two hours in her attempt to make some sense of it.  At the end of the walk we visited the library,  where we complained about the illogical map.    "Yes we know," they said, "the guide has just been reprinted and many visitors complain about the unhelpful map."   Apparently a new map will soon be printed, and placed as an insert into the "Town Trail Guide." 

 

 

 

 Frome Church.

Our visit today was a recce, a chance to plan a "Town Trail" for a later visit, and to find a nice pub for lunch.   Frome contains a large number of listed buildings, and much of the town centre is a conservation area, and was well worth the visit, even with a dodgy map!   Maybe we will come again in December, and do some Christmas shopping in the many interesting little shops in this lovely town.

 

 

 

The cosy bar of "The Old Bath Arms."

After wandering about the town looking somewhat lost, we popped into the first  pub we could find and asked about lunch.  They only did bacon butties and cheese rolls, but one very helpful drinker sitting at the bar, recommended the pub above, which we eventually found without the help of the useless map.   We five drank beer, two glasses of cider, wine and apple juice, together with a tasty baguette, two burgers and two homemade meat pies.  We all enjoyed a  lovely day in a town much in need of a well designed town map! 

A Very Tasty Fruitcake.

The finished cake!  J holds a plate of four slices of the tasty fruitcake she made for M's birthday last Tuesday.  She made two cakes, and we have nearly eaten one of them already, as the cake is very fruity and  "moreish."  I'm no cook, so it was nice to have someone make a cake for us all, many thanks J.  Friday October 31st is "Halloween" and once again the front of the  "Black Swan" (my favourite Devizes  pub) is dressed in its creepy garb of two enormous spiders, one climbing up towards the roof, and the other sitting in its web.  The landlord and staff decorate the building every year,  although I'm not too sure that it encourages arachnophobics like me,  to pass through the pub's front portal.

 

 

The spiders are made of a furry fabric, which adds to their creepyness!  I'm no lover of spiders, but will force myself to use the side, courtyard door, so as not to have to walk under the "Tarantula" over the main entrance.

The Baking of Cakes.

        



Today is M's birthday, and J has made two nice cakes to celebrate the day. On the left you can see the ingredients  for making a family fruitcake, made from a recipe J has bought with her from Braunschweig.   I have a very small kitchen, so J had to juggle things about, trying to find space on which to put everything. I'm no cook, so we borrowed the scales and some equipment from a neighbour, and J managed to get the mixture just about right to go into the two cake tins seen below. The cakes were successfully baked, and the two are now on a cake stand in the kitchen waiting for us to tuck into some pieces later this evening.    I like fruitcake, although I'm no good at baking it!    More news to follow tomorrow!

 

 

The two fruit cakes waiting to be cooked.

 

A Boat-trip on the Kennet & Avon Canal.

 

J & G enjoyed a trip this afternoon on "Kenavon Venture," the Devizes "Kennet & Avon Canal" trip boat.  They can be seen peering out of the front window of the widebeam boat in the photo above.  It was a beautiful autumn day, with soft sunshine, and so still, that no ripples disturbed the water, and only the ducks made a splash.

 

"Kenavon Venture" passes under London Road Bridge.  Simon, one of the crew stands on the bow, just to make sure the boat safely turns the sharp bend to the right in the photo.

"The Red Lion" was SHUT!

The sun showed its face for few moments in Avebury, and it rained,  and to top the lot, our prefered place for lunch "The Red Lion" was shut!   The landlord had the audacity to close my favourite drinking hole because he was  getting married!   We were not the only ones to be disappointed, walkers arrived, visitors came in cars and families with small children  were all turned away by two security personnel, who stood guard at the entrance.  We had to eat, with every other disappointed visitor, in the overcrowded, noisy "National Trust" cafe,  a place much too small for the purpose. 

 

"Avebury Stone Circle" is a World Heritage site, with marginally better facilities than at "Stonehenge," which is a national disgrace!   Millions visit these places from all corners of the world every year,  and we cannot provide adequate facilities for them to enjoy a trouble free visit.  After a noisy lunch in a small cafe with too many wet people and crying babies, we eventually walked the circle, pondered its meaning, and attempted to talk to the lazy sheep, who seemed unfazed by the hoards of visitors.

 

 

"Avebury" is a much visited site, and the above gate and fence have been erected to close a footpath, that was becoming too worn by the millions of feet that trample the site every year.  Part of the surrounding ditch and sheep, can be seen grazing in the background of the photo. The sheep cut the grass,  but that means you must check your every step, otherwise you get "you know what" on your shoes!

 

Janet walks back for tea and cake at the cafe, with part of the stone circle and ditch in the background.   It was a cold, damp day,  with a chilly wind blowing,

Devizes to Bromham Through Mud, Glorious Mud!

We set off on our five mile walk from the "Black Swan" in Devizes Market Place in bright sunshine and on pavement, but further down Conscience Lane we ran out of good track and encountered mud.  Not just ordinary mud, but the deep, slimy version that collects around gateways and  makes climbing over  stiles a life threatening experience.  Two sensible ladies wore Wellington boots, the rest of us struggled on in walking boots, with mud and water up to our ankles.  We crossed wet fields and eventually reached the rich farmland owned by "Bromham Growers" where cabbages, sprouts, turnips and other assorted vegetables grow vigorously in the rich soil.  

Our aim was "The Greyhound" a very nice hostelry next to the village church in the village of Bromham, the pointed spire of which, can be seen above the pink anorak in the above photo.   In front of a welcoming fire, we enjoyed lunch, drank beer and coffee, and chatted the while.

 

 

What on earth is that?   I'm not sure what these walkers have discovered but maybe  it's a rare flower, an edible fungi or just a large cowpat!

 

Good morning  Mr/Mrs/Miss Goat!  These curious goats came up to see us, hoping for a snippet to eat, but none was available.  We wondered why goats' eyes have slit irises and not round ones.   Does a slit iris give them panoramic vision, and help them escape predators?   Can they detect thistles at five miles?  We had no answers. 

Meeting Friends at Southampton Airport.

On the left is the dinkiest little cafe I have ever seen on a railway station.  This one I photographed in the rain at Westbury station.   I was on my way to Southampton Airport to meet friends from Braunschweig, who are staying with me for twelve days.   The weather was ghastly, cold, wet and windy.  To make matters worse the airport was busy, because flights to the Channel Islands were suspended  due  to  the  bad weather.  Initially it was difficult to find somewhere to sit, and then more bad news, J's plane from Hannover was delayed for 50 minutes while a man and his screwdriver tinkered with the engine.  That's not a happy sight to see before boarding an aircraft.   The plane eventually arrived 49 minutes late and of course, this meant that we missed our train with the reserved seats in Southampton.   

It was not an easy day, although J's homemake cake, eaten in the waiting room of Southampton Central station, helped improve our spirits.  It was an English day at its worst, Novemberish, with everything  going  slightly wrong in unpleasant weather.   We took a taxi for the final leg of our journey, and arrived in Devizes at 18.30 after what seemed an endless day!

 

 

J's homemade fruit cake, lovingly made in Germany, and eaten on a wet day in England, went down a treat with a cup of English tea.

A Semi Bone-Idle Sunday.

 

I was bone idle for most of Sunday, apart from a lunch time walk to the Wharf shop, and a quick bit of late afternoon food shopping, when bargains can be had in Sainsburys.  I bought a bargain nutty wholemeal loaf reduced to 75p, and some salad stuff for my healthy tea of cheesy jacket potato, with plenteous green salad, coleslaw, chopped onion and tomatoes, followed by fresh fruit and a strong cuppa!

The photo shows silly boater's badges which are on sale in the Kennet & Avon Canal shop at Devizes Wharf.  There have been big changes at the shop, which is now upstairs in the cafe, and the former shop downstairs is now displaying information about the Canal Museum, and selling a small amount of chandlery.   The established shop of many years is much missed, and time will tell if all these changes are for the best.  Not too sure!

 

When I had my boat I refused to wear the "Galley Slave or the Deck Scrubber" badges, much prefering the "Chief Engineer" or in particular the "Miss-Chief" badge!

 

J & G  are arriving here from Querum this week, and will stay for twelve days.   I have been much involved in housework over the last fornight, which is not really my "cup of tea" but necessary when visitors are about to arrive.   It is really nice to look out on the world again through sparkly clean windows and my polished surfaces are so clean, that I could eat off them!   It won't last!

Cutting out the Regency Dress

It's been a very long time since I did any dressmaking.  I think the last time I made a dress was way back in the 1970's, certainly long before my son was born 1985.   I've rather lost my confidence, and spent the afternoon, checking and double checking that I had laid the pattern out properly on the fabric.  I've decided to simplify the dress, and make the back in one piece, rather than in the four pieces of the original design.  Some parts of the pattern had to be laid wrong side up, the material is placed right sides together, so all in all, you need an IQ of 150+ just to read the pattern!   Anyway after much dithering, I've managed to cut out dress A, and will now have to find some lining material, and cut that out at a later date.  It's been a lovely autumn day here with warm sunshine and no wind, although it is about to change for the worst on Sunday unfortnately!  

 

"Hampshire Rose" the narrowboat belonging to my friends is still at the Wharf, having had engine problems which are now repaired, and been delayed by the closure of the locks because a hire-boat sank in the bottom lock of the Caen Hill flight.  It is thought that water flooded through the weed-hatch, a device that gives access to the propeller for the removal of fouling, and which needs screwing up tightly when replaced.  Obviously somebody forgot to tighten the nut.   Oh dear!

Clatford Bottom, The Devil's Den Dolmen and the Grey Wether Field.

It rained heavily overnight on Thursday evening, so we knew that on today's walk, we would encounter some puddles.  The ones  to the right  show  some of the worst, although we all managed to find a dry route past, and nobody slipped in!    We walked to the "Devil's Den Dolmen," the last three remaining stones that once stood and supported  the entrance to a stone-age, long barrow burial chamber.   Fortunately the one on top is  cemented firmly to the others,  but none of us was keen to walk under the lintel, just in case!

 

 

Through the Dolmen,  B can be seen reading the map, and working out the best way to the "Grey Wether Field" and "The Red Lion" at Avebury.

 

The sarsen stones in the background are still a mystery to archeologists and historians.  How did they get to this dry valley?  Were they carried here by ice and water?  Were they here all the time, and have appeared through the eroded ground over millions of years?  Nobody seems to know, and perhaps we never will.  The stones are called Wethers, after the old English name of sheep.  Many sheep were grazing in this area, and were very difficult to make out amongst the stones.

 

We finished our walk in "The Red Lion" at Avebury, where I had to drink another half pint of beer.  Sorry G!

Market Day Again.

It usually pours with rain on Thursday´s market day in Devizes, but today it was bright and cheerful, although a bit chilly in the blowing wind.   I walked past this lovely flower stall on my way to the "Black Swan," where the "Thursday Coffee Girls"  (we are all over 60, so hardly girls!) meet in the back bar at 11am for drinks and a good chinwag.   It was so busy today, that we had trouble finding a table for the four of us.   The pub does a roaring trade on a Thursday morning selling coffee at a £1 a cup, far cheaper than anywhere else in Devizes,  and good beer of course, (although not so cheap.)    After a good chat,  I wandered back home via the free range egg stall, and bought six large eggs, and then wandered to a fruit stall and bought six large nectarines.   I walked home for lunch at 12.45pm, drank a cup of tea, and at 2.30pm the  members of my "Beginners German Group" arrived.   We are working on numbers, telling the time and generally struggling with the complexities of German grammar.  All interesting stuff.

Engine Trouble at Devizes Wharf.

I was all set for a morning's hard work helping "Hampshire Rose" down the Caen Hill flight of 29 locks in Devizes.  I had a good breakfast, wore my sensible shoes and set off at 09.45 to meet Gerald and Anne at "Town Lock," to help them on their way to Bath.  When I arrived at the Wharf, they were still moored up at the water point, so I went on board and drank a cuppa, while we all waited for the water tank to fill.   When filled,  A and I picked up a windlass each, (these operate the locks,) and we set off to walk to the first lock.  We didn't get very far because, as we looked over the canal bridge at the boat below, G could not start the engine!   We looked at each other in disbelief and walked back to the boat.  G lifted the engine hatch and tinkered with the pipes and tried the engine again, which sprang to life for a couple of seconds and then fizzled out.   Friends came over to help and offer possible solutions, "What about the fuel pump, the injection pump, the pipe clips,  a worn hose, have you got diesel in the tank?"  The problem remained unsolved! 

 

 

The boat had to leave the water point to allow other boaters to use, so we poled her back over to the towpath moorings  (behind the two blue boats to the right in the picture above,) where G rang "River and Canal Rescue," for a marine engineer to come out and repair the problem.  "Holly"  the Jack Russell,  watched the proceedings in warm sunshine from her comfy bed on the stern hatch cover.

 

"Hampshie Rose" puts on water at the Wharf water point.  Holly followed me and my camera to the front of the boat, curious little creature that she is.

Regency Dress, Pattern and Fabric

My pattern arrived today, "Butterick 6630 Ladies Regency Dress, Coat and Spencer sizes 12/14/16."   I'm starting with dress A, the brown one worn by the lady on the right of the picture.  The lady on the left is wearing a white dress with a blue coat on top, and I hope eventually to make both outfits.  Tonight I cut out pieces 12 to 21 of the paper pattern, and made sure that I have enough fabric to complete the dress.   Yesterday I bought a second-hand duvet cover and pillowcase very cheaply in a charity shop.  It is a linen type beige fabric with a pale blue stripe, and looks very Regency!    I took these two photos in half light tonight, as I have no ceiling lighting, since something went click this morning and all the lights went out.  The sockets still work, as does the television,  and I have the light from the cookerhood in the kitchen,  and the  side tablelights work in the bedrooms.  The electrician is coming on Wednesday morning at 09.30 to rectify the problem, and then I can get going in earnest with my dressmaking.
 

 

Above is pattern piece 16, a puff sleeve, which is lying on the nice striped blue fabric.  The dress will need lining, and a lot of hand stitching is involved, but I have seven weeks in which to complete it before our Grand Regency Party on Saturday 24th November.