Trinity Hall

Grocery shopping is a daily activity since even though the number of items I need to purchase is small, their weight in my backpack is not insignificant.  The time required for  shopping is minimal so I usually meander through the town first before going to Sainsburys.  Last Friday the door to Trinity Hall (not to be confused with Trinity College, the biggest college and the one founded by Henry VIII) was open so I walked in.  A porter--or gatekeeper--is always nearby and I waited to ask--politely!--to visit but since he ignored me, I made my way to the door.  He certainly did not ignore me then but barked something that caught my attention.  I told him what I wanted to do and he cautioned me to stay on the footpaths.

Trinity Hall is one of the oldest and smallest colleges here in Cambridge.  It was founded in 1350 to train clergy after so many had died in the Black Plague. Like many of the colleges, the plain outside walls give no hint about the beauty of the courtyards inside.  One of the gardeners had been cutting the (perfect, green) lawn and I asked him about the flower beds.

The colors were extremely bright and this bed in particular caught my eye since it looked like sneezeweed had been planted there.  Other common flowers are sedum and verbena bonariensis--only it seems better behaved here and does not spread all over.

The gardner (much friendlier than the porter) said the flower beds can continue to look lovely until about mid-November.

The Road to Grantchester

I had been told by a lady at the tourist office that the walk to the village of Grantchester just southwest of Cambridge was time well spent so with map in hand I headed off.  After making a few wrong turns I almost made another one following a couple into a nature preserve.  That's when an elderly lady appeared and asked if I was looking for the path to Grantchester.  I replied that I was and that was my last contribution to our conversation for awhile.  She pointed me in another direction but in the same breath began to talk to me about her garden and "her "birds.  Her border garden was lovely with lots of Chinese lanterns ("physalis") and fuschia that were as large as small shrubs. Local children had asked to pick the berries of the Chinese lanterns and she told them to wait until she found out if they were edible.  I told her we had eaten them as a garnish at one of our college dinners and that they were both lovely and delicious.  I wanted to tell her how magnificent her fuschia were but I couldn't get a word in edgewise.  She asked if I could hear her birds and said that they knew it was time for her to feed them.  She went on to describe feeding the geese that had nested by the river:  a loaf of whole grain bread and an extra piece for the leader.

She was convinced that the geese understood her when she told them she had no more bread and had to head home.  I felt like I had encountered a proverbial "bird woman"--a lovely person in need of some company.

Finally on the footpath, I watched another walker playing catch with her dog.  The collie seemed to love 

retrieving the stick, laying it down before her, racing around in a circle, and then crouching down on all fours awaiting the next toss.  The owner said this was simply the dog's nature, no human training involved.  So much energy! So much fun!

The footpath is through a meadow where cows graze.  No fences separating us.  They didn't bother me and I didn't bother them.

Grantchester is known for its thatched roof houses.  Thatch is made from the reeds and sedge of the fens (marshes).  I don't know how long a thatched roof lasts; I did notice that the thatch seems to be covered with a wire netting.

I ate lunch at a local restaurant called the Rupert Brooke which was named for a British poet of the WW I era who had lived in Grantchester for awhile.  One of the specials of the day was "deviled whitebait on leaves with white mayonnaise."  I knew what leaves and mayonnaise were but I had no idea about "whitebait" other than it must be some kind of fish and "deviled" sounded tasty.  To my dismay I was served a bowl of many little whole fish all arranged neatly on a bed of lettuce.  It was disturbing to eat something that was staring back at me but I did--quickly--and made a hasty retreat back to Cambridge.

Street Scenes

Even though English is our common language, sometimes street signs can leave me scratching my head in puzzlement.  For instance:

There are no zebras (and that's "zeb-ra" not "zeeb-ra") in the area, humped or otherwise. It just means that there is a bumpy (like our speed bumps) striped pedestrian crossing area marked on the street.  I'm   still figuring out all the zigzag markings.

Then there's:

You most definitely want to take it easy when you are driving and see such a sign.  A vertical post comes rising out of the ground apparently to slow you down.  Hitting one makes for a very bad day indeed.

I had no idea what this sign meant (I hadn't noticed any flies) except that I knew I didn't want to be spied upon by a closed circuit TV.

Fly tipping refers to dumping waste illegally and apparently this area by the river is a popular spot for such activities.  

And lastly, just a bit of English humor.

Ely-Revisited

This trip to Ely was a repeat for Tom but it is an easy train trip from Cambridge of a bit more than 15 minutes.  Riding the train definitely brings back memories of Germany only this time there's no reason for us to get lost.  We spent part of the trip talking to some charming young ladies from Italy who were here studying for a month.  They were eager to practice their English; we wish we could have learned some Italian.

Fens abound around Ely and in those fens are the eels.  Eels are everywhere in Ely and celebrated in the local art.

A mosaic eel made from pottery bits in Jubilee Park.

The sign says "The Way of the Cross" but I think the eel motif is present too.  This cross is in the Cathedral.

We visited the Lady Chapel as Tom had done before but this time spent more time looking at the walls.  The chapel was badly damaged during the time of Henry VIII when statues were removed, windows broken, and figures in alcoves were beheaded.  Now the chapel takes its theme of "brokenness" from the physical damage.

The Fitzwilliam Museum

Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum is a classical art museum that according to guide books is the best for antiquities and art outside of London.  I would say the inside architecture of the building with its many kinds of marble and statuary is worth a visit in and of itself.

Over the two side doors to the galleries is the coat of arms for Cambridge University.  In the center is a book lying horizontally.

We certainly did not see all the galleries or listen to the entire oral guide but we did peruse a number of galleries before museum fatigue set in.  One gallery had botanical illustrations from years ago.  I was surprised to see that a begonia that has recently become popular in our gardens has actually been around for a long time.

Cambridge Botanical Garden

Friday the 16th was a fine day so I decided to walk to Cambridge's Botanical Garden which is about a 50 minute walk from our apartment.  My first impression of the 40 acre garden was that it could use a few more volunteers to clear out the weeds but maybe that bed (the one showing when plants from around the world were introduced to England) wasn't as high priority as some others.  There were areas of huge trees

Thuja plicata

as well as many small gardens including a rock garden built about 50 years ago.

What caught my eye was a sign that said if the garden were constructed today, it would not use  limestone, perhaps because areas with limestone are becoming rare.

One interesting fact I learned is that Cambridge, receiving only about 55 cm of rain every year (at a bit under 22 " that's far less than Ohio's annual precipitation), is one of the driest areas in England.  Who knew any part of the British Isles wasn't soaked to the bone??  This explains why I haven't needed my umbrella more often.

Miscellaneous

Here are a few random thoughts.

Politics:  What I glean from watching the news here is that the problems are very similar to what we are experiencing in the States.  We've heard reports about rising unemployment in England. Currently the rate of increase is very high although I do not know actual numbers.  There is a threatened strike later this year by government employees about pensions (sound familiar?)  Transportation services among others could be shut down.  That could definitely hurt since trains and buses are an integral part of life.

Housing:  A report on TV said there is a housing shortage here and that new homes in London are very small.  My sense is that there are some protected land areas and some are saying the government has gone overboard in refusing to let homes be built there.  Okay, this is not like the US at all.

Library:   We are heavy library users so it wasn't long before Tom found out where the local lending library is.  It's located in a downtown mall--very convenient!--and no trouble at all to get cards even though we could not produce an envelope with our current address on it.  There's a cafe in part of the library, just like in our bookstores, and it appears that part of the library is a service for the unemployed. The downside is that our Columbus collection (and I'm sure Dayton's too) trumps Cambridge's hands down.  The selection of books, books on CD, and movies isn't as large and checking out CDs and movies entails a charge of 2.50-2.75 GBP.  Hooray for our public libraries!!!

Friendliness:  I have yet to meet a grumpy service person!  Grocery clerks, library employees, post office workers, bus drivers have all been unfailingly courteous and friendly.  Perhaps it is because there are so many visitors to Cambridge that they know we're all learning how to live here.  Most of all I notice it at the local Sainsbury's (grocery store) since I go there day after day.  The check-out clerks show no sense of impatience as they wait for customers to bag their groceries before going on to the next person in line.  Lovely!!!