View from the espresso bar

 

Watching the world pass by

 

Bristol

Today I decamp. Off to Bristol about an hour north of Frome which I have not visitied before but heard nice things about. Then onwards to Germany.

High heels and cobblestones

Walking with high heels is a challenge at any time, but particularly walking down the steep cobbled lane called Gentle Street. I followed this young woman down Gentle Street as she carefully place each heel on a cobble.




The street eventually leads to St Johns Church. There was a service on but a pianist rather than an organist so I didn't stop to listen but went on to La Strada which is just down the steps on the other side.

(I discovered while writing this that if you mis-type high heels, you get high hells.)

Paintings of Frome here.

Ethel

My walk this morning took me past this church where I hovered a while to listen in case there was an organist playing.









As I listened I looked at the view from the front of the church over the graveyard. Then I stooped to look at the inscription on the wonky stone at the front.


















Ethel
Only and Beloved Child of
Philip and Kate Edinger
Died July 11 1898
Aged 14 years.

Rook Lane Chapel

Today I walked the Frome historic walk. This is the Rook Lane Chapel built in 1707 . It is, to quote the tourist brochure, a grade 1 listed building and the front is one of the most beautiful facades in Somerset. It was recently rennovated and is now an arts centre.

Somerset and the other English counties.

Its raining today, probably much more like normal Somerset weather.

People here refer to places by county and today I asked a woman at the tourist office for a map of English counties. However, if such maps exist, the tourist office doesn't have them. The have lots of information about Dorset, Sussex, Kent or Cornwall but no maps to show where they are.

It is a bit like the suburbs of Sydney. Everyone takes them so for granted no one thinks to produce a map.

£ and $

Goods seem to cost as much in pounds as they do in Australia in dollars. The only problem is that £1 = A$2.5

Good coffee

This is La Strada coffee shop at the end of Cheap Street in Frome, my second home at the moment. I read about the current Bayreuth Ring Cycle (post below) while I was at La Strada this morning. My post of 22 July (Pretty Frome) shows the shops opposite La Strada.
It is a quaint place and the coffee is excellent.

Three stars only

Today's Guardian had a very scathing piece about Rhinegold and Die Walkure, the first two operas of the new version of the Ring Cycle at Bayreuth. The reviewer was disappointed by the production and some of the singers but praised the orchestra. Three stars out of five they gave it.

St Johns

This is St Johns, the church where the schoolchildren performed the Ring Cycle last Tuesday. Built in the 13th Century but largely rebuilt in the 18th century.

23 years

About thirty people turned up for the peace vigil. It reminded me of the Peace Group in Hamburg I belonged to in the early 80s. As today, we had stood in a silent circle to protest war. I tried to remember which war it would have been that we were protesting in the early 80s, but there have been so many and I couldn't recall which it would have been.

Afterwards as we sat at The Lamb drinking beer or grapefruit juice we exchanged stories. One young man, Barnaby, said that he had a special feeling for Lebanon as he had lived there as a child. His father was a graphic designer doing a contract there and the family had intended staying in Lebanon as it seemed like a vibrant place to live. But war broke out. He said remembered waiting for a school bus when the bombing started one day. There was noone else about. He was scared waiting for the bus and then a hedgehog shuffled across the road and stood next to him.

I asked him which year that would have been and he replied '1982'.
Then I remembered which war it was we had protested in Hamburg in the early 80s. That was 23 years ago. 

Vigil for peace

The quaker community in Frome is organising a Vigil for Peace this evening. A local graphic artist has made a banner and shortly the banner and its carriers will start off at the Lamb Pub and walk down Bath Street to the Frome market place .

The papers are full of the Israeli bombing spree and one can only applaud people who find something practical to do about it. I will be joining the marchers.

The packhorse bridge at Tellisford

There are several lovely swimming spots on the River Frome and one of them is at Tellisford. You drive to this small gathering of stone houses called Tellisford, walk down the steep road past the mill, over the bridge, along a little lane between high weeds, turn right, climb a style, and walk over the paddock to the river swimming spot.

The bridge (pictured) is narrow, probably just wide enough for a wagon. It is made of stone and you can imagine the pack horses clattering over the cobblestones in centuries past.

The mill itself is being renovated by an enthusiastic group. There are pictures on the door showing how they intend to harness the water's energy to produce electricity. Presumably they will feed it into the national grid.

more paintings here

Lager Loaf

Frome Country Market
Lager Loaf
Contains : Lager, Bananas, Dates and Walnuts
£2.20
Serve sliced with butter
Mrs E Brock, Wistara Villa, Great Elm

That is the lable on the packet. Word for word. And very delicious it was too.

Wagner pops up everywhere

Last night I went to a performance of Wagner's Ring Cycle put on in St John's church, Frome by local schools. Having been very disappointed by the one hour whisk through the (16 hour!) Ring Cycle I saw recently in Sydney Opera House I was a little sceptical about a children's production.

I needn't have been. The production was excellent and I suspect whoever organised it has bred a generation of Frome citizens who will love Wagner's music. The fire music was particularly successful with a group of orange clad children bathed in orange light waving filmy orange textile 'flames' up and down. Viewed down the isle from the back of this lovely 13th Century St John's church, it was magic. A short sighted person would have thought the font was on fire.

Church window

In the photo below of Stina drawing the Valentines Lamp you can just see this window above the lamp. The building used to be a church but has been converted to flats.

Stick to your own knitting bishop

A representative of the car industry has 'reprimanded' the bishop for his comment that it is a sin to live your life without caring for the environment.

Global warming headlines

The UK Sunday Times reported today that:

The Bishop of London Richard Chartres says that it is sinful for people to contribute to climate change by flying away for holidays or using gas guzzling cars.

‘Grass is dead, long live the plastic lawn’. Plastic turf companies report a doubling of their sales last year. When drought kills your lawn, get a plastic one.

A new hormone drug are being tested that will give people the ability to brown without sunbathing. The tan protects against sunburn but the drug does have some side effects. Trialists reported feeling nauseous.

But don’t despair about global warming. There is good news too:
Britain’s original working class resort, Blackpool, is to use its bid for a super casino to inject a flavour of Dubai, the 21^st century playground for the newly rich.

Roses in Frome