Wok N Roll with us...Bob and Teri Along with Atlas and Kalani: August 2019

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Stratford-Upon-Avon, England Aug 5, 2019

Our tour is coming to an end. We are working our way back to London, but not without first making a stop in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England. Stratford-Upon-Avon is the birthplace of William Shakespeare, born in 1564 in a house that doubled as both a house and a glove maker/wool dealer shop. Not only was Shakespeare born in the house that we toured but he spent all of his childhood and also the first five years of his married life in that home. In the home, we walked through the Shakespeare boy's bedroom where the walls were saturated with stories and superstitions of demons and fairies. Stories that would later influence Shakespeare's works. We also saw the loft that the girls in the home slept in as well as the birth room of Willam Shakespeare. If you look closely at the pictures you will see the truckle bed (trundle bed) that William Shakespeare would have slept in until he was 5 years old. Outside of the house were extensive gardens planted in various flowers that would have been common in Shakespeare's day.

About one mile from Shakespear's house is the childhood house of Shakespear's wife Ann Hathaway. This home was about three times the size of a typical cottage in the 1500s and originally sat on about 90 acres of land. While we did not tour the inside of this home it is a beautiful and cute cottage.

As we walked about the town of Stratford-Upon-Avon we were immersed in the Timber framed Tudor architecture of the Shakespeare era. We visited the Guild Chapel that was founded prior to 1269. The Shakespear family was a member of the Guild. They paid fees to join which included services of a hospital, the school and also a priest to pray for the dead. The walls of the Guild had paintings that depicted such things as the Doom, the Allegory of Death and St. George slaying the dragon. Queen Elizabeth I's Injunction (1559) ordered that all places of worship that had images of superstition and idolatry were to be removed. Following this order, Willam's father took on the task of defacing related images from the Guild's walls. He used a Limewash to do this which thankfully ended up enabling historians today to recover some of these lost images. Last we had a quick look at the school that William Shakespeare attended.

The school was known then as The King Edward VI school. Grammar curriculum was standardized for all boys throughout England at the time by Queen Elizabeth I. The school would have provided intensive education in Latin and grammar. By the end of their grammar school education, students were fluent in Latin and had become quite familiar with the drama and rhetoric of the great Latin authors.

Soon we were on our bus once again headed to London arriving in time for a lovely evening that included dinner and a theater Broadway production of Waitress at the Adelphi theater.

William Shakespeare's Birthplace
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

The Boy's Bedroom
William Shakespeare's Birthplace
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

The Girl's Sleeping Loft
William Shakespeare's Birthplace
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

Family Gathering Area
William Shakespeare's Birthplace
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

The Birth Room of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare's Birthplace
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

Flowers in the Garden of
William Shakespeare's Birthplace
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

Anne Hathaway's Cottage
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

The Guild Chapel
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

Inside The Guild Chapel
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

Some of the Images Queen Elizabeth I ordered removed
Inside The Guild Chapel
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

Inside The Guild Chapel
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

William Shakespeare's School

Inside The Guild Chapel
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

Our Final Evening with our Group
At the Adelphi Theater
The Wonderful Broadway Show - Waitress

Monday, August 19, 2019

York, England Aug 4, 2019

Today we left Edinburgh, Scotland with a destination of York, England just over 200 miles away. Along our journey, we stopped to view the Jedburgh Abbey. The Jedburgh Abbey lies 10 miles from the Scotland/England border, on the Scotland side. The Abbey is an Augustinian (a type of Catholic Religious Order) Abbey first founded as a priory by David I of Scotland in 1138. It was raised to Abbey status in 1154. The Abbey's border location meant it was caught up in the various conflicts between Scotland and England in the Middle Ages. Alexander III of Scotland and Yolande De Dreux were married in the Abbey in 1285. Being forced to leave the Abbey due to structural issues, the Church of Scotland Jedburgh Old and Trinty Parish was established nearby in 1875.

Work commenced on Hadrian's wall in 122 AD under the direction of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, the wall took 15,000 men and 6 years to build. The wall was designed to act as an imposing statement of the empire's power as well as a deterrent. The wall was an impressive 73 miles long. Only 10% of the wall is still visible today. The day we visited we met a group of people that were on an 11-day, 85-mile hiking tour of the wall. Their bags were carried by their tour company and they stayed at various Bed and Breakfast locations along the way as they hiked the path where the wall once stood.

We have had wonderful weather on this trip. York, England was the first place on this trip when we encountered rain, which is pretty unusual for the British Islands. And the rain we did encounter was fairly short-lived, 45 minutes maybe.

The York Shambles, originally a word for a slaughterhouse, is a maze of twisting narrow cobbled streets in York where well-preserved buildings from 1350-1475 remain. For centuries, this was the street of butchers and also the main place where the locals came to buy their meat. Walking down this street we could still see the hooks that were used to display the meat. The street overhanging upper floors not only provided for great upper floor space without intruding on the street below, but it is said to have been done to lower the taxes that one paid on their property too, as those were determined by the actual ground footprint of the building. Although as recently as 1872 there were 26 butcher shops on the street, today no butcher shops remain and the shops mainly cater to tourist interests.

The earliest part of All Saints Pavement Church is the nave that dates back to the 12th century. The first known mention of the church is in the Doomsday Book (the year 1086). It is the burial place of 34 Lord Mayors. This church tower, in medieval times, was lit at night with a lantern to help guide travelers into the city from the wolf infested Forest of Galtres. The 14th Century West window depicts the Passion and Resurrection of Christ.

York Minster is one of the largest cathedrals in all of England. While a wooden church first stood at the site in 627, the church that is seen today was built over a period of 250 years from 1220 - 1472. York Minster houses the greatest collection of intact medieval stained glass in the world. The large Minster is 524 ft. X 249ft. and the interior of the main cathedral is the height of an 8 story building.

We were disappointed that being a Sunday, we were unable to take their extensive tour of this unique treasure. Several of us in our group, however, decided to attend one of their services with the idea that it would afford us some view of the inside. Since we arrived well after the service had begun, we sat outside of the sanctuary in an overflow area (still stunning) known as the East End. While we were unable to tour the entire Cathedral, we were treated to some of the most beautiful music during the service. If we have the opportunity to return one day, while touring the entire cathedral will be high on our list, so will attending another service. The choir mixed with the incredible acoustics within were simply unbelievable. The sounds of the choir quickly dampened our initial disappointment of not being able to tour the cathedral. I just closed my eyes and took it all in. While this link will not give you the full experience, here is a short clip of the talented choir that we experienced. York Minster Choir

Jedburgh Abbey
Jedburgh, Scotland

This Bee was Tiny, No More Than 1/4" Long
Jedburgh Abbey
Jedburgh, Scotland

Church of Scotland
Jedburgh Old and Trinity Parish
Jedburgh, Scotland

Hadrian's Wall
Brampton, England

The Shambles
York, England

All Saints Pavement Church
York, England

The East Window (the year 1370)
All Saints Pavement Church
York, England

York Minster
York, England

The East End
York Minster
York, England

Back Side of
York Minster
York, England

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Edinburgh, Scotland August 3-4, 2019

Edinburgh is the Capital city of Scotland. The Edinburgh Castle is built on top of an extinct volcano at the highest spot in the city. Its location made it one of the best-defended fortresses in Scottish history. Castle Rock has been the site of human activity for some 3,000 years. Artifacts have been uncovered at this location dating back to 850 BC. and, St. Margaret's Chapel that is located at the Castle is the oldest surviving building in Scotland. After Queen Margaret died in 1093, her son David I later built the chapel (1130-1140) in her memory. The first King of Scotland known to have made his residence at Castle Rock is Malcome III Canmore (1031-1093). Between 1296 and 1331, the castle was captured twice by the English and also retaken by the Scots. The Great Hall, which we walked through on our tour, was completed in 1511 by James IV. The last Monarch to have stayed in the Castle is Charles I in 1633. Just outside the Castle drawbridge is a large open area where we were later treated in the evening to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tatoo.

The first Edinburgh Royal Military Tatto has held in 1950. The Tattoo includes music and performance from some of the world's most talented military and folkloric performers. Performers are from all over the world including much of Europe, China, New Zealand, South Africa, and the Caribbean. This year marked their 69th show and like the International Tatto that we attended in Nova Scotia, it made for a wonderful evening.

I have provided links to a few short videos below that were taken at the Tattoo.

Tattoo 1

Tattoo 2

Tattoo 3

Tattoo 4

We were also in Edinburgh during the yearly Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Fringe got its beginnings clear back in 1947. Today it has grown to be the largest arts festival in the world. The Fringe is open to any performer that can afford the journey. We had a fun time walking around and watching the various performers. Some were pretty good while some well, it was their life's dream I guess. There are shows everywhere in the city, some in theaters, some in cars and many out in the open along the streets. There are over 30,000 performers and it was fun to walk around and happen upon the various surprises.

As part of our tour, we also did a dinner show that included bagpipes The Pipes, comedy, Scottish dancers and the Celebration of the Haggis. We all got to taste Haggis and I actually liked it, enough to order it for lunch the following day. For the weak stomach folks, I will not explain what Haggis is made from rather you can choose if you want to watch the video. HaggisMaking
Celebration of the Haggis

Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh, Scotland

St. Margaret's Chapel
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh, Scotland

The Great Hall
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh, Scotland

The Edinburgh Royal Military Tattoo
Edinburgh, Scotland

The City of Edinburgh
Scotland

A Fringe Festival Performer
Edinburgh, Scotland

From the Edinburgh Castle Looking
Across the Furth of Forth

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Northern Ireland, August 2, 2019

We basically did a drive through Northern Ireland on our way to catch the ferry to Scotland. Unlike the Republic of Ireland that obtained its independence from the English in 1922, Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom. Belfast is both the capital city of Northern Ireland and also its largest city. We had a short stop in Belfast with time to take a limited stroll in the city. Belfast has been the scene of various sectarian conflicts between the Catholics and Protestants and has seen some of the worst troubles from these conflicts. On this trip, as the Brexit date is approaching, we became very aware of the concerns from most that these sectarian conflicts might return should a Brexit no-deal happen. The site now occupied by the Belfast City Hall originally was the location of the White Linen Hall, an important international linen exchange in the 1700s. Inside the city hall building is an impressive collection of marble statues, stained glass windows, and paintings. The Clever House, located directly across the street from the City Hall, began as the Robinson Cleaver department store in 1874. This high-end store, prior to its closure in 1984, prided itself as the most famous store in the world for Irish Linens. We were soon back on our bus, in too short of order, where we continued on our way to catch our ferry to Scotland. Along our route, we were treated to some of the beautiful views of the coastline of Northern Ireland. We had a 3-hour ferry crossing, arriving in Edinburgh, Scotland in time for dinner.