A Bit of a Travelogue

Since it’s and cloudy and cool out today, and a good day for staying inside where it’s cozy, perhaps I should take the opportunity to bring things more or less up to date on this blog. Just a sec while I make myself a nice cup of tea.

Now then.

Southwold
Half-term holidays gave John a week off, beginning on Monday, February 11th. We set off in late morning for Southwold on the Suffolk coast. This holiday resort is a virtual island, surrounded as it is by river, creek and sea. The streets of the town are lined with Georgian and Edwardian houses, and the beach is beautiful, with sand the colour and texture of brown sugar. Southwold’s pier, built in 1899 and refurbished in the late 1980’s, is home to restaurants, shops and an arcade. We had a delightful afternoon and promised ourselves that we would go back when it gets warm enough to swim.


Looking toward the pier


Midway along the pier, looking back toward the town

The Colchester Zoo
On Tuesday, February 12th we decided to visit the Colchester Zoo, reputed to be one of the best in the UK. It did not disappoint, as it has a huge collection (over 260 species, says the brochure) - many exotic species and some familiar ones like elephants, rhinos, chimps, sea lions, and giraffes.


Kindred spirits


In the glass tunnel under the sea lion tank - cool!

Anyone who has visited and enjoyed the Toronto Zoo might worry that at Colchester the enclosures seem small; still we were impressed by the naturalistic conditions under which the animals are kept, and the zoo’s breeding program has been very successful - sometimes inadvertently. Ever seen a zeedonk? Here’s one, thanks to kind volunteerism of the zebras and donkeys at the Colchester Zoo.


Striped pajama pants

Kenilworth Castle
On Thursday, February 14th, we set off to visit our dear friends Ian and Cathy Gaskell in Market Drayton, Shropshire. Along the way we couldn’t resist the lure of a ruined castle, and so spent several happy hours exploring at Kenilworth in Warwickshire. Begun in the 1120’s and added to many times over the centuries, the castle was successively owned by Henry I, Henry III, John of Gaunt, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, who gave it to her favourite courtier and would-be-husband Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. You cannot walk in such a place without thinking of the feet that walked there before, without wondering about those hundreds of people who lived, loved, worked and died there. Is it possible be pensive and thrilled at the same time? We certainly were.


Misty weather suits the setting


Robert Dudley walks the tower


Looking out over Warwickshire

Let's take a break here to indulge ourselves in a bit of Renaissance daydreaming. We'll resume our travelogue shortly, starting with a glorious turkey dinner in Market Drayton.

Oh, to be in England

I am following the Canadian weather reports, and all I can say is that I feel sorry for all of you back there. I really do. This is what we see when we walk up the High Street here in Halstead:



Not that we didn't earn such glories. When the boys and I awoke on Friday, February 1st and looked out the window, we nearly had collective heart failure. It was blizzarding out there, and as we all know, airplanes and blizzards do not mix. It took us two and a half hours to get to Toronto, but we arrived safely thanks to Jason's excellent driving skills. Our takeoff was delayed by just over an hour, what with frozen airport equipment and de-icing and all. To say that our takeoff was a bit bumpy is an understatement, but it was nothing compared to landing in Montreal and then taking off - once again delayed an hour by frantic de-icing. From my seat, as we ascended, I could see the cabin crew in their little jumpseats giving each other The Eyeball. The Eyeball that means "have you made a recent will, because any minute now we are going down in flames."

Things calmed down after half an hour or so, and the rest of the flight was relatively uneventful, except for the usual struggle I have with myself midway over the Atlantic, the one where I feverishly try to talk myself out of jumping out of the plane, sans parachute, screaming "Enough! Enough!"

Nick, Ben and I survived the food, the boredom and the bumps, and arrived safely at Gatwick only an hour late.



So far, we have quite recovered from our jet lag and are loving it here - even though we didn't have the internet connected until three days ago. That, by the way, is my excuse for lack of blogging until now. I promise I'll do better in the days and weeks to come.

Tomorrow we're off to the Colchester Zoo. We're taking a picnic lunch with us, but I'm not sure yet whether I'll take a sweater.

Gloating isn't very nice, is it.