Unbeknownst to us, ANDY DAVISON was due in England on business right now. The plan had been hatched that his sister LOUISE would drive us to the Charlton Village Hall, to discover ANDY sitting on the memorial bench to their parents, reading a newspaper. (There is a third sibling, Virginia, whom we are yet to meet.)
Now that would have been SPECTACULAR if this had happened yesterday.
So Bad News Story No. 1 is Andy's business trip has been postponed until January 2013.
Today we set off to find a certain stained glass window in the St. John the Baptist Church in Charlton. It turns out to be the same church Louise showed us yesterday, where her sister Virginia and Guy were married!! And, like yesterday, this small church was closed.
The window commemorates the 20th Earl of Suffolk, who, according to Andy on the phone this morning, was not too interested in being an Earl. He even worked in Australia as a jackaroo for a while. So when World War Two came along, he joined the bomb disposal squad, wishing to make a useful contribution. The Bad News Story No. 2 is he was killed by a bomb and, with the church closed, we could NOT see the stained glass window in his memory. You need to be INSIDE looking OUT to gain the full effect.
The church was right beside the gates to the Earl's estate. It was amusing that, when we drove up, the gates silently swung open. But given the stern "Private Property - Not for Public Entry" signs, we reversed rather than proceeded!!!
Bad News Story No. 3 involves an old friend of Sue and Andy. Sue suggested I call in and give her old friend Phil Ashby, who works in a local Malmesbury bank, a big hug for her. The Malmesbury folk told us he is now in the Tetbury branch. As we wished to visit the Highgrove shop, off we tootled to Tetbury.
Poor Phil!!! As Woodsie kindly explained to me later, I probably should have explained my mission BEFORE hugging him with the enthusiasm I knew Sue would wish. Below is Phil with me, after he recovered from his shock.
Next was the Highgrove Shop, located very conveniently only a few doors down from Phil's bank branch. Highgrove House is, of course, the home of Charles and Camilla. Sadly, neither we're behind the counter to serve me as I stocked up on a few mementos.
Tetbury was yet another charming village, especially on such a perfect summer day. It seemed chock full of antique shops AND one naughty fake ivy dog.
Woodsie nostalgically gazed at a man mowing the Tetbury cricket club wicket.
Then we set off for Oxford. I THOUGHT I had set the GPS for the university town, via Faringdon, which was a short detour but Andy had claimed it was a few extra miles well worth driving to see.
Bad News Story No. 4 is somehow I managed to enter (without noticing) Farnborough, not Faringdon, so we detoured alright!!
Now there is some good news for the day. Good News Story No. 1 is we followed the advice of Louise and did not drive into Oxford ourselves. We followed the clear signage to the 'Park and Drive' which is a series of large car parks on the outskirts, each serviced by a regular stream of buses, which take you right into Oxford, then return you straight back to your car park.
When we finally made our way to the Tourist Information Centre, we were told their last walking tour for the day had already left. Outside, we saw another walking tour just beginning.
I bowl up to the guide and ask if we can pay and join in.
"No, this is a private tour ... of Australians."
I pipe up. "But we are Australian, so don't we qualify?"
He reluctantly conceded we could, but only if his group agreed. Now this was definitely Good Luck Story No. 2. This group of mainly women are from the N.S.W. coast, between Sydney and Newcastle. A more friendly and welcoming group we could not find.
They are all in an aqua aerobics group and decided to take a holiday. When we visited the chapel at Trinity College, one asked Allan, our guide, "Is that the stairway to heaven?"
Poor Allan was a bit pompous and not quite in sync with the irreverent, hilarious nature of these women. But I loved them.
Oxford held so much history and amazing buildings ...
and statues and carvings ...
and open green spaces and gardens ...
that it was a pleasure to wander around to see and learn about so much.
Christopher Wren, the famous architect, was a Professor of Astronomy here. The writer of 'Alice in Wonderland' taught Mathematics. The Bodleian Library is one of the largest in Europe and has 90 miles of bookshelves!! One bell chimes 101 times at 9:05 each evening. Why? Oxford once comprised 101 colleges. 9 o'clock was curfew. And before Greenwich Mean Time, 2100 hours in London was 2105 in Oxford.
Oxford has educated 12 SAINTS, 30 Archbishops of Canterbury and 50 Olympic medallists. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, went here.
Oxford is a place STEEPED IN TRADITION.
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